Univ. of Tennessee AD Dave Hart today announced that he will "step down next summer," effective June 30, according to MJ Slaby of the Knoxville NEWS SENTINEL. Hart has two years left on his contract with a base salary in '15 of about $622,218 and "total compensation of more than $800,000." He has been UT AD since September '11. UT Chancellor Jimmy Cheek in June also announced that he is "planning to leave his role" and will "return to the faculty after a successor is selected likely in time" for spring '17. Hart's announcement "comes after several high-profile sexual assault cases involving football players, a federal lawsuit against the university and uproar following the removal of the Lady Vols name for all sports other than women's basketball." Last week, UT Dir of Football Operations Chris Spognardi was "placed on paid administrative leave for a 'personnel matter.'" Hart in a statement said that he "plans to wrap up a three-year fundraising campaign this fall and has 'other priorities' to address during the year" (KNOXNEWS.com, 8/18). Hart: "This was a good time to set a target to wrap up my career." The AP notes Hart's tenure "featured notable increases in fundraising and improvement in athletic facilities and academic performance" (AP, 8/18). CBSSPORTS.com's Gary Parrish notes Hart "led the athletic department during a time when men's basketball coach Cuonzo Martin left UT for California, in part, because Martin didn't feel like Hart publicly or privately supported him properly." Hart then hired Southern Miss coach Donnie Tyndall but "had to fire him less than a year later because of an NCAA investigation that was launched." Hart's time at UT also includes him "firing football coach Derek Dooley and replacing him with Butch Jones." But the "biggest stain" was the federal Title IX lawsuit that "claimed the university had a 'hostile sexual environment'" (CBSSPORTS.com, 8/18).
